Indelible
by artigiano
Summary: Tag to 2.23, with slight spoilers if you haven't watched already. Danny and Steve have a conversation about the way Steve pulled Chin out of the way. K for mild swearing.


**Well, after quite a long break of posting, I'm back. I actually have quite a few stories for this show that are either written or almost done that I just haven't typed up or finished yet, but the point is that you'll probably be seeing more of me once school gets out and I have the time to get everything sorted out. **

**I just got around to watching the season finale a few nights ago, and felt that there should have been more between Danny and Steve after Steve got shot, so this is the result. This story was written in about a half an hour and is completely unbeta'd, so all mistakes and/or atrocious writing are solely my responsibility. **

**Standard disclaimers apply. I neither own nor have any rights to _Hawaii 5-0. _If I did, the hurt/comfort junkie in me might have made it so that vest didn't work quite as well...**

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Danny had insisted that the paramedics check out Steve before leaving the scene, just to make sure that the bullets hadn't done any more damage than the extensive bruising already visible. "I'm fine, Danny. I've been shot in the vest before and I know what it feels like. Nothing is wrong." He'd been repeating this ever since he had stood up from after fatally shooting Chaver.

"You could have internal bleeding that we don't know about. You could have any sort of damage that could kill you later. So sue me if I want to make sure that my partner is going to be still be among the living tomorrow."

Steve was going to respond but when his breathing hitched in pain, he knew that he had lost the battle. He allowed his partner to lead him to the waiting ambulance, even though he was sure they were only going to tell him what he already knew: he had deep muscle bruising that would leave him sore for a while, and some broken ribs that would just require time to heal.

Sure enough, after some poking and prodding and a thorough examination with the portable ultra-sound machine, the EMTs told Danny exactly what Steve had predicted. "Can I please go back to the office now? I've got…stuff I need to handle." Danny looked at him from the corner of his eye at that one, probably knowing that Steve was holding something back, but McGarrett wasn't ready to share about the latest Shelburne development just yet. He knew he was being hypocritical, especially after their conversation this morning, but Steve had to figure out if Joe was even telling the truth before he got anyone else's hopes up that this might lead to a resolution soon. Even though Shelburne and Wo Fat were his problems, they affected the entire team every time some new shit storm developed.

But in any case, Danny just nodded and jerked his head toward the Camaro. "I'm driving, though, you Neanderthal. I don't need you passing out in pain behind the wheel."

Steve acquiesced quietly, knowing both that he was not going to pass out and also that that was not the real reason Danny wanted to drive. In truth, Danny needed the control that driving allowed in some small way after what had just happened; they had seen two much death and had too many near-death experiences today for Danny to be truly comfortable. Steve was used to this after all the war zones he had seen and could compartmentalize, but Danny was a civilian and didn't have that training. So he gingerly slid into the passenger seat, trying to conceal a hiss of pain when his injured back touched the seat.

It seemed as though he was unsuccessful in this venture though, when Danny shot him a concerned look not a moment later. "Are you sure you're okay? You should have taken the pain meds the paramedics offered."

"Danny, seriously, I'm fine. I need a clear head and it's nothing I can't handle."

"Right, Mr. Super SEAL can endure anything." Danny paused for a moment and flexed his fingers on the steering wheel, letting McGarrett know that he was still not truly forgiven for the trick with the chair. Finally Danny spoke again, but it was not the question that Steve was expecting. "Did you… did you even think before you pushed Chin out of the way? I mean, he had on Kevlar just the same as you. You must have known that his vest would absorb the bullets just as well as yours did, and yet you shielded him immediately. Why?"

Danny's question honestly surprised him, but he gave the first answer that came into his head. "Chin has someone that would miss him, a wife and a future family that would have been deprived of him had those bullets gone through the body armor. The vests don't always stop the bullets—I know, I've seen it happen a few times. Good men died because the bullets made their way through and I couldn't let someone on my team die and have their family be deprived of them if I could protect them. So I protected Chin. It's not really that complicated."

"Not really that complicated? _Not really?" _Danny's tone had turned irate in almost a minute. "And what if your vest hadn't stopped the bullets, Steve? What if your body armor didn't do its job? You would have had four bullets in your back and no one would have been able to save you. I'm not saying I wanted Chin to have taken those bullets over you—hell, I would have rather neither of you gotten shot—but did you even stop to think about what could have happened to you? Who would have been deprived if _you_ had died?"

Steve shrugged and then instantly regretted it as pain shot through him. "Objectively speaking, Chin is more valuable to the outside world. Mary would be able to live without me—we barely know each other anymore. I don't have any other blood relatives, and you would be able to move on too. I haven't changed you indelibly. But Malia would be crushed, and I don't know that she'd ever be able to have a full life without Chin again, not when they just found each other. I couldn't take that risk."

Obviously something he had said had upset Danny untold amounts because he shifted in his seat and fixed Steve with a glare. "You haven't 'changed me indelibly?' Are you shitting me? Steve, you're like a brother to me, and you just about gave me a heart attack today! You need to start thinking about your own safety too! Because one of these days you're not going to have a vest on and you're going to take a hit that you're not going to come back from. And that would kill me, Steven. How can you not see that? It would kill all of us, but you're what makes this island bearable for me most of the time and so next time you need to think about yourself too! You matter too, Steve."

Steve wasn't sure if the reason he was having trouble breathing was because of the bullets or because of what Danny had just said, but either way he had to stop for a moment and allow his body to relax before he could speak at all. Finally he composed himself both physically and mentally enough to reply. "Okay. I-I didn't realize that you cared that much. I'm not going to promise that I'm never going to take bullets for you guys anymore, because that's just not who I am, but I'll be more cautious."

Danny nodded, eyes focused on everywhere but Steve. "Good. Because you're not invincible, you know, and I don't want to ever put that seriously to the test." Danny finished talking just as they pulled up to the 5-0 headquarters. "Now go and do your 'stuff' and I'll see you later, alright?" Danny had that look in his eye that Steve had seen before after he had gotten injured or done something stupid, the look that said that he really didn't want to let Steve out of his sight.

"Yeah, sure." Steve omitted the fact that _later _probably meant after his trip to see Shelburne with Joe, and just smiled in response before getting out of the car. He had survived that difficult conversation with Danny—now he just had to survive whatever Joe had in store for him.

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**Any reviews are welcome and appreciated! **

**Charlotte**


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